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Dainego: Situation at Donetsk airport could not cause failing Minsk meeting

“Kiev deliberately aggravated situation on eve of meeting in Minsk,” he said.

Vladislav Dainego TASS/Stanislav Krasilnikov

Vladislav Dainego

© TASS/Stanislav Krasilnikov

LUGANSK, January 18. /TASS/. The situation at the Donetsk airport could not cause failing the Minsk meeting of the Contact Group on settlement of the situation in Ukraine, the Luhansk Republic’s ambassador to the Contact Group Vladislav Dainego told a news conference on Sunday.

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Contact Group talks in Minsk failed due to situation at Donetsk airport, non-agreed agenda

“Kiev deliberately aggravated situation on eve of meeting in Minsk,” he said.

The Luhansk Republic received invitation to meeting in Minsk from OSCE, he added.

Another round of talks in the format of the Contact Group for settling the crisis in Ukraine broke down in the Belarusian capital Minsk on Friday, January 16. It was to be attended by representatives of the Kiev government, the self-proclaimed unrecognised Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, Russia, and the OSCE but the Ukrainian delegation failed to turn up in Minsk.

A source close to consultations told TASS the sides did not manage to coordinate the agenda as a result. “Also, the events around Donetsk airport obviously affected the situation, too.”

At the time of reporting, there was no information about a possible new date for the talks, and the source said a long and tense pause in the Minsk consultations was very likely in the cards.

Denis Pushilin and Vladislav Deinego, the plenipotentiary representatives of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics at the talks, left Minsk after it was clear representatives of the Kiev government had not arrived.

“We waited until the very last moment that someone of them would come and we didn’t have any doubts that the OSCE had issued invitations but nothing happened,” Deinego said while leaving Minsk.

Pushilin and Deinego said they were ready to take part in consultations within the framework of the group in the future but said they would hold meetings only with Kiev’s plenipotentiary representatives.

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